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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

One woman dead and another man in critical condition after being hit by a passenger bus near Perth Andover.

At around 7:30 on Sunday, the bus struck a man walking with his mother on Route 190. RCMP state they were walking with the flow of traffic when they were hit from behind.

The 70-year-old woman died and the 50-year-old man's injuries are life-threatening. He remains in the Saint John Regional Hospital. Although the names of the victims have not been released, both were from the Montreal area.

The partnership at Tucker Park between the new medical school, the Regional Hospital and U-N-B Saint John has the potential for huge economic benefits for the city over the next few years. That, according to Tony Goguen, who chairs Enterprise Saint John.

Goguen estimates such spending on health sciences research in Halifax alone amounts to as much as 100 million dollars a year and there are economic spinoffs to be derived from that.

He believes that could happen here in the next 3 to 4 years.

New Brunswick has been last among the provinces when it comes to that type of spending on research.

The Alward Government faces a very tough road financially but Tom Gribbons, who chairs the Saint John Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative, doesn't think the Premier is wavering in his commitment to the poverty reduction plan.

The poverty reduction plan was cobbled together at a conference in Saint John that was chaired by then Premier Shawn Graham and agreed to by then Opposition leader David Alward.

Gribbons is calling the social safety net more like a web that traps people in poverty. He says there should be more incentives to go to work with better supports for such things as childcare.

Municipalities around the province are waiting with bated breath about what the Alward Government plans to do to bring about increased regionalisation.

Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier doesn't sound too pleased about the town limits being expanded to Petersville Hill considering there's an army base and little opportunity for commercial development.Losier is also not happy with two local service districts refusing to pay for the upkeep of the River Valley Community Centre to keep it going even though they partially own it.

Even though the city's 2012 budget has not been finalised yet, Mayor Ivan Court is talking as if there will not be an increase in the tax rate but it all depends on what the province does about the proposed pension plan changes.

The Mayor says if the provincial government formally approves the revised changes to the city's pension plan, not only will there be no increase in the tax rate but there won't be any cuts in city services.

Court tells CHSJ News since the city and province have been working together on the revised changes, he doesn't see why they wouldn't be approved.

The NB Coalition for Pay Equity wants the Alward government to prioritize a decent wage for all workers in 2012.

Campaign co-president Louise Imbeault says that the work women do is often valued less than the same work done by a man.

The N.B. Coalition for Pay Equity has managed to raise over half of its $80,000 objective for its Still Standing fundraiser. A recent tour called Pay Equity Means to Me reached out to workers affected by pay equity programs initiated by the government a few years ago. The group met with 150 people from four targeted sectors in Campbellton, Moncton, Grand-Falls and Tracadie-Sheila.

Imbeault says they're working hard to get pay inequality addressed in the next provincial budget.

More information has been released about the reported assault of a cab driver in Quispamsis early in the morning of New Year's Day.

Rothesay Regional Police say a man who is accused of attacking the cab driver after refusing to pay his fare is known to them. The incident happened on Hampton Road.

According to police, a group of about six men, who all appeared to be drunk, were picked up in the city and driven to the Valley.The driver attempted to kick them out of his cab and this is when one of the men attacked him who suffered abrasions and was taken to hospital for treatment.

It may be a new year -- but -- the controversy over shale gas exploration remains simmering on the front burner.

And in an interview with CHSJ News -- Premier Alward says his government is moving to tighten up regulations for the industry so that people will feel protected and companies will the clarity to look for opportunities as well.

Alward says those regulations will be backed by better monitoring and adequate enforcement -- the Premier also says he believes we need to have good quality companies carrying out the exploration work.